Act 1, Scene 1 Summary

Seated in a booth at a Chinese restaurant, two men are engaged in a heated discussion related to real estate sales goals. Shelly Levene, an old workhorse of a salesman, is having a run of bad luck and is trying to convince the real estate office manager, a younger man named John Williamson, to help him by sending a few good sales leads his way. However, Williamson's real objective tonight is to relieve Levene of his position.

Levene tries every tactic he can think of to maintain his position and his dignity, reminding Williamson of his past performance as a top sales representative for the company, but Williamson is unmoved by Levene's pleas. Levene simply isn't bringing in the numbers anymore. Williamson repeats what Levene already knows, that the salesmen at the top of the board in the sales contest get the best leads.